Part 1 (a)He was believed to be the creator of the Spartan society and how it functioned. Most of the Spartans thought him as a God-like figure and worshipped him. There is no certain source or a piece of evidence about Lycurgus and archeological records contradicted his existence often. Even Spartans had no idea of what Lycurgus looked like but there were his portraits and statues as what people imagined how a wise lawgiver would look like. (b)The Hyakinthia festival

This was a festival named after Hyakinthos, a youth who was lover of the god Apollo and died when Apollo accidentally hit him with a discus. The flower of the red hyacinth was believed to have sprung from his blood. In his grief, Apollo ordained an annual festival. This festival was held at the ancient shrine of Amyclae (about five kilometres from Sparta). This site was the location of a huge statue of Apollo, the tomb of Hyakinthos and an open area for festival dances. The festival took place over three days in the (summer) month of July. Athenaeus, writing in the 2nd century A.D., has given an account of this festival, which basically revolves around mourning for Hyakinthos, and praise of Apollo: The festival had two stages:

1. The first stage involved rites of sorrow and mourning in honour of Hyakinthos. There was a ban on the wearing of wreaths and on joyful songs. Offerings were placed at the dead youth’s tomb. The eating of bread and cakes was forbidden; there was a special funeral meal, then a day of ritual grief. 2. The second stage involved rejoicing in honour of Apollo, the wearing of wreaths, the singing of joyful songs, sacrifice to Apollo, a festive meal, a procession to Amyclae, choral song and dance. The historian Hooker has interpreted the festival as a festival for the dead on one hand, combined with a thanksgiving for life on the other.

The Gymnopaediae festivalThis was 'The Festival of the Unarmed Boys'. The festival was held in the Spartan agora (market place). It commemorated the battle of Thyrea fought against Argos c.550 B.C. The festival featured: choral performances; the setting up of images of Apollo and Artemis “boxing” amongst boys and men. Although much has been written about the violent aspect of the festival, it has been interpreted as a 'rite of passage'; on the way to manhood, an initiation that indicated membership or belonging to the community. The Gymnipaediae were celebrated in July, the hottest part of the year. The festival consisted of a series of athletic competitions and musical events among boys and men. Dancing and running in tough conditions proved the strength of the Spartan citizens to the onlookers. In its early context it was part of the whole warrior code to initiate the young soldier to a life of physical excellence. It was not confined to Sparta. This festival was a thank-offering to Apollo for military success.

(c)Religion in Sparta, like in many civilizations, had a commitment to support the ideals of a militaristic society. The Spartan ideal of an elite military state influenced the approach to religion and the ways in which religion would be molded to suite state doctrine, therefore highlighting the importance of religion in upholding the values of Spartan society such as endurance, loyalty, obedience, conformity, and skill. Religion was also use to create social coherence, important in promoting conformity and in controlling the society under the ideals of the military state. At an individual level religion provided a way of ensuring fertility both human and natural as well as averting disaster and ensuring victory in war. Religion was important for the State and this could also be seen in the wartime practices of the Spartan Army. According to Powell, Spartans believed in military divination, following an army to war was a herd of sacrificial animals ready to appease the Gods. Consultative sacrifices were held before embarking on a military campaign, before a battle and when...

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Year12 – AncientHistory
Minoan Research Task
Minoan Bull-leaper Statue
The Minoan Bull leaper is a bronze statue of a bull and leaper, the statue is currently housed in the British Museum. The statue is made from bronze, which is an alloy of copper and tin. It contains about 96% copper and 1.5% tin, with about 1% zinc. The statue measures 15.5cm in length, 11.4cm in height and 4.7cm in width. Although bull leaping certainly took place in Crete during the time that the statue was created, the leap that is depicted in the statue is practically impossible. This has led to the speculation that the leap depicted is exaggerated. This speculation is supported by testaments from modern day bull leapers from France and Spain. The technique used for the casting of the sculpture is called “lost-wax casting” whereby a wax model is made and then subsequent castings are made. Due to the composition of the sculpture, it would have been difficult for the bronze to fill the mold; this resulted in the missing lower legs of the leaper and probably the arms. The statue has not been restored in anyway and has been left in the same condition of that Arthur Evans excavated it in.
The Bull Leaper statue was excavated possibly in Rethymno, Crete and first published by Arthur Evans in his “Journal of the Hellenic Studies”. He dated it to the Late Minoan 1 Period, around the 1600 BC and during the New or Second Palace...

...CULTURE STUDY OF SPARTANSOCIETY
Michael Labelle HIST111: World History before 1650 Dr. Timothy Hayburn October 11, 2012
Labelle
2
As a culture, the Spartans were very unique in their pursuit for prosperity. Morality, honor, courage, discipline and commitment were evident in every aspect of Spartan lifestyle. The code of ethics, in which Spartansociety lived by, were unmatched by any other Greek society and was the embodiment by which they where able to thrive as a culture. As fanatical as the Spartans may have been in their culture, many of their concepts hold true in the modern day society. Concepts such as earning citizenship and “service before self” are just a couple of examples that many societies use as the foundation onto which they hope to design their social structure. Yet, many countries may not be willing to go to the extremes as the ancientSpartan. Ultimately, how were the Spartans able to implement their principles under military style conditions and still flourish as society? Although martial law, or a military society, may invoke thoughts of repressed citizens and extremism with regard to military control, the Spartans managed to institute their principles onto their society that...

...the Spartans resembled other Greek lifestyles until the sixth century BC, when an attempted revolution by slaves led to Sparta becoming a virtual military camp. Spartansociety changed dramatically, but not suddenly. Gradually all aspects of life were controlled by the state and military discipline was imposed. A great filed army was set up which was almost invincible. However, politically, culturally and materially, Sparta stagnated.
➢ The geographical setting:
▪ The Spartans are referred to in historical texts by a number of names: ‘Peloponnesians’, ‘Dorians’, ‘Lakonians’, ‘Lakedaemonians’ and ‘Spartans’.
▪ Sparta was situated in the fertile valley west of the Eurotas River on the Laconian plains between Mt Parnon and Mt Taygetus.
▪ To the west of Sparta was the Taygetus mountain range, to the east the Parnon mountain range and to the north the Arcadian mountain range.
▪ These and other steep mountain ranges cut Sparta off from the rest of Greece and helped to make Sparta a more insular, ‘closed’, society. Rough mountains, also cut Sparta off from its eastern sea access, limiting sea trade.
▪ The Eurotas River was a main source of water and a channel of communication.
▪ The surrounding mountain ranges and Sparta control of the passes meant that she had a strong frontier and little need for an acropolis or city walls like other Poleis.
▪ The economic dominance of the...

...The Life of a Spartan Warrior
Can you imagine being taken away from your family and your home when you were just seven
years old? And then spending the rest of your life learning how to fight and then fighting your
country’s enemies?
In the 5th century B.C., this was the life of a Spartan boy. It was Spartan law that boys must become
warriors. And not just good warriors, but they had to be the best in the world!
What was Sparta and where was it?
Ancient Greece, or Hellas as it is called in the Greek language, was divided into many states and
city-states. A city-state, or polis in Greek, was actually just a city with such power that it controlled
the entire state in which it was located. For example, Sparta was the city-state in the state of
Lakonia, but because Sparta was such a major power in its state, it was common to use the city
name to refer to the whole area.
At the time, Sparta had a population of 100,000 citizens and slaves. Because it was located in the
center of the Peloponnese peninsula (the southern half of Greece), Spartans knew that any battles
would have to be fought on land. Their city-state would need expert warriors on the battlefield.
Why did Sparta need such strong warriors?
Sparta was located on mountainous, rocky terrain that was unsuitable for farming. It was also
located too far away from the sea to be able to use the water for...

...Explain the importance of the role or religion in SpartanSociety.
Religion in Sparta, like in many societies, had a purpose. Religion was important in Sparta to support the ideals of a militaristic utopian society which, after the Messenian wars, the governing forces were aiming to create. "Those who honour the gods most finely with choruses are best in war" [Socrates]. The Spartan ideal of an elite military state influenced the approach to religion and the ways in which religion would be moulded to suite state doctrine, therefore highlighting the importance of religion in upholding the values of Spartansociety. Religion in Sparta was interpreted to uphold Spartan values some of which are endurance, loyalty, obedience, conformity, and skill. A role of religion was to support military organisation, hence supporting the state. Another role was to support the political organisation, with religion being used as a way of influencing society to support the governing. Religion was also use to create social coherence, important in promoting conformity and in controlling the society under the ideals of the military state
Spartan religion was interpreted to support the military state. The religious connection to the military can be first seen in the Greek Gods the Spartiates emphasised and worshipped. The principal...

...What are the main features of the Spartan agoge and what did the agoge contribute to Spartansociety?
Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, which completely focused on military training and excellence. From the age of seven a Spartan boy would compete in a series of stages which help constructs the identity for which these Spartan warriors are known to be. With knowledge passed through such an education Sparta was able to produce a military force like no other. This education system was known as the agoge. With this education system it is a build up for physical, social, intellectual and moral education for these soldiers which overall construct an identity creating a sense of eunomia within the society and the fellow Greek states.
The agoge was a system of features which correlate to the state of “eunomia” A balance of good order. The Agoge was designed in order to emphasize on eunomia within the city by encouraging discipline from the age of 7 which contributes to the state of eunomia. This is emphasized by the amount of training due to the fact that for the next five years these Spartan boys were conditioned physically and mentally which overall defines what an ideal Spartan warrior were to be within that time period . Xenophon Constitution of the Lacedaimonians 2.1 "[2.2] Lycurgus, on the...

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Film and Fiction: 12Years a Slave and Depiction of Slavery on Film
Kate Tutu
Mr. Di Tomaso
CHA3U
In the film 12Years a Slave directed by Steven McQueen has been critically acclaimed and has acquired recognizable awards for the cinematic adaption of a written first account of a slave in the 1800s named Solomon Northup. The film features the realities of the institution of slavery revealing its cruel and terrifying aspects. The film mainly focuses on a free African American named Solomon Northup who was abducted and was put in to slavery, this film shows the life he had to endure and the people he met for the 12years trapped, until his release from slavery. The institution of slavery in the United States was an ongoing issue since early in the 17th century, by the time of the American Revolution and the adoption of the new Constitution in 1787 slavery was a dying institution. The importation of slavery to the U.S ended in 1807, but slavery began to thrive especially in the South due to the high demand and high profit of cotton. During the 1800s the institution of slavery in America was split, the Northern states were known as free states where slavery was prohibited but as for the Southern states slavery was a part of the culture and was essential to the economy. The films subject is slavery in America and the filmmakers wanted to bring Solomon Northup memoir to life and...

...﻿HISTORYASSIGNMENT – ANCIENT ROME
Hello, Australian Historical Society! I am an expert in Roman History, and I have been asked to talk to you for an excessive four minutes. Please be aware that I am a very nervous person, especially in front of large groups of people, so I may or may not screw it up horribly. If I am ever inaudible or I stop abruptly it may be because my hands are shaking too much to be able to read the words I’m supposed to be saying, so please be patient.
The Gracchi (168-121BCE)
Tiberius Sempronius and Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, commonly known as the Gracchi, are Roman political reformers who, through their use of the Plebeian tribune, set Roman politics on a course that ended in the collapse of the republic. But their liberalism and overzealous desire to correct existing problems brought them up against Senatorial conservatives, who killed them.
Tiberius often disregarded the Senate’s authority. He brought his bills straight to the people and ignored the Senate. He also ignored Senatorial privilege over land affairs, sometimes extending his authority over what would usually be the Senate’s area of governing. He tried to run for second term, but was killed by the Senate in the ensuing riot.
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